Healing A Broken Heart
by Snowbert98
Summary: Octavius finds love but in the process, Priscilla loses it. Can she regain it with someone else?
1. Chapter 1

Octavius's day was a bore so far. He had had to sit in on many meetings and none of them were very interesting. The most exciting thing that had happened so far was him having to break up a fight that broke out in the tribune meeting. Surprisingly, his cousin Julius had not been involved in the fight.

The final meeting of the day was a legate meeting. His three legates were meeting to share news and make sure everything was going well.

As he entered the hall, he spotted a dark-haired woman in armour sitting at the table alone. For a moment, he thought it was Optio Themis. Then he looked closer and realised that this woman's hair was longer and she was darker skinned. Octavius was embarrassed that it had taken him so long to recognise Legate Jessica, the first ever female legate. He had promoted her himself from tribune, after she had personally taken command of two centuries out on the battlefield when their centurions were indisposed.

Feeling a slight flutter in his chest, he sat down at the head of the table. He glanced at her, and found her glancing back at him. She dipped her head. "General, sir."

"Legate."

Jessica looked away, looking slightly uncomfortable. Octavius wondered if the butterflies were flying around HER stomach too.

Not long after this, Legate Titus and Legate Icarus arrived. Octavius smiled a greeting to his cousin, who smiled back, but Titus completely ignored the general and sat down as far away from the other three as possible. Everyone noticed this but nobody cared. Nobody particularly liked Titus.

During the meeting, Octavius could hardly concentrate. He kept sneaking glances at Jessica and then looking away when she looked at him.

If he was being honest, he admired her a lot. She had been a legionary from when she was fifteen to when she was twenty-one, then she had been promoted straight up to prefect after she had survived a building collapsing on her and then single-handedly, through her own injuries, rescued twelve legionaries, including Septimus; and two tribunes, including Julius, from the building just as it caught on fire. From there, she served the empire tirelessly until Octavius had deemed that she deserved to be a tribune.

She had caught his attention very early on. She was determined and ambitious, but not so ambitious that she was willing to do absolutely anything to achieve her means. She would rather be a prefect and have earned it than be a legate through unscrupulous means. But she WAS a legate now, and it WAS because she had earned it. Octavius knew that, and he hoped she knew it too.

After the meeting was over, Titus got up and left very quickly. Icarus took longer; he had a brief word with Jessica and then came over to Octavius. "Are you feeling alright?" he asked concernedly. "You look pale and I noticed throughout the meeting that you didn't seem to be able to focus."

Octavius hesitated, embarrassed that it had been that obvious. "I am alright. Thank you for your concern, Icarus. I am sure Julius and Septimus are waiting for you."

Icarus nodded slowly, not looking back entirely convinced, and left.

Jessica awkwardly stood up. "I'm...just going to go," she said.

Octavius nodded slowly. What he appreciated most about Jessica, apart from her beauty, was the fact that off the battlefield, she was awkward and socially shy. Somehow, it made her seem more real. She was a different person off the battlefield, as Octavius himself was too. Maybe that had caught his eye as well?

"Sir, are you feeling alright?" Jessica asked slowly. "You look pale and peaky."

Octavius nodded again. "I'm fine. Thank you."

"If you're sure..."

As Jessica left, she took several deep breaths to calm herself down. _What's wrong with me?_ she thought. Why was her heart beating so quickly?

Oh, no. She didn't...did she?

Did she have a CRUSH on Octavius?!

That was pathetic. Did she really think a mighty General like him would ever even notice her, let alone like her back? He had HUNDREDS of admirers! Why would she be any different?

 _Because you're the first and only female legate,_ her brain reminded her. _Octavius HAD to have noticed you at some point or he wouldn't have made you a legate._

That was true. But had he noticed her in THAT way?

"Jessica," called Octavius's voice.

Jessica froze as the General came out of the hall. She swallowed back her nerves and put on a smile. "H-Hello, Octavius. S-Sir."

"Just Octavius will do. May I call you Jessica?"

Jessica swallowed again and nodded. "Of course."

The General hesitated. "Are you...seeing anyone?"

Jessica blushed. _Did he really just ask me that?!_ She forced herself to calm down and appear strong. "No. Are you?"

"No." Octavius looked like he didn't know what to do with that information. "Are you...interested in anyone?"

"Um..." Jessica decided to tell the truth. "Yes."

"Oh."

Octavius looked disappointed, which confirmed to Jessica what she had only suspected: Octavius was interested in her. She felt very flattered, and if she played this right, both of them would be able to get what they wanted.

"Are you?" she asked quietly.

Octavius glanced up. "I...yes."

Jessica smiled. "Is it me?"

Octavius stared at her in surprise. She quickly added, "It...It's okay if it isn't. I'm sorry for making you feel embarrassed. It's just that...the person I'm interested in is you."

"R-Really?" Octavius smiled slowly. "Then...yes. You are the one I am interested in."

Jessica hesitantly reached out and took his hand. He closed his fingers around hers and smiled. "Will you enter a relationship with me?"

"I will," Jessica replied softly.

Hesitantly, she leant forward. It was too soon, she knew that. Too soon for such activities. They'd only just become a couple. But some part of her hoped...

That was when Octavius made the split second decision to kiss her.

And both of them knew it was a good decision.

But unbeknownst to them, a lone woman was watching them from afar, tears dripping down her face. Feeling her heart break, Priscilla turned and fled.


	2. Chapter 2

Crying freely now, Priscilla raced down the streets of Rome, not knowing or caring where she was going. Her head was aching, her heart cracking, her vision blurry, and her stomach flipping. She could hardly believe what she had just witnessed. The man she loved…kissing someone else. He had chosen Jessica, not Priscilla. And it hurt like hell.

Suddenly, she bumped into someone so roughly that she fell backwards and scraped her elbows on the cobblestones. Instead of getting up, she just lay where she was, crying her eyes out.

Centurion Tiberius dithered a metre or two away, unsure of what to do. He had had a crush on Priscilla ever since she treated his horse and prevented it from being put down two years ago. He had known that her heart belonged to General Octavius, though, so he had tried to get over her, but it had not worked. What was she doing, now, running through the streets in such a state?

Eventually, he crouched down next to her and hesitantly said, "Priscilla?"

She didn't respond so he gently placed his hand on her shoulder. Apart from flinching slightly, he didn't get a reaction.

Glancing around, Tiberius spotted a few legionaries standing nearby, snickering behind their hands. Enraged, Tiberius snapped at them, "Go away!"

When none of them moved, Tiberius stood up and said sternly, "I know who you are; Forcus, Kilius, and Polus. If you three don't leave in the next five seconds, I will have you on latrine duty for four months!"

The three legionaries almost tripped over each other in their haste to get away.

Turning back to Priscilla, Tiberius took off his cape and lay it over her. This finally made her slowly stop crying as she registered the material over her. She rolled onto her back and sat up against the wall of a building, holding the cape around her. Tiberius sat down next to her, close enough that he could offer comfort, but at a respectable distance.

"Do you…need to talk?" he asked hesitantly.

Priscilla swallowed and looked down at the ground. "The man I love…chose someone else."

"Oh…" Tiberius bit his lip sympathetically. "I'm sorry."

"I saw him…kissing her. It hurt so much, Tiberius."

Tiberius blinked, momentarily surprised that she had remembered his name. "I understand why. Do you feel betrayed by him?"

Priscilla sighed sadly. "No. Because I know he was not mine and I was not his. He owed me nothing. We were not together."

"But it still hurts, doesn't it."

"Of course it does."

Tiberius regarded Priscilla, huddling under the cape, and came to a decision. "You need a drink. When was the last time you ate?"

"I…I don't remember."

Tiberius stood up and offered his hand to Priscilla. "If you will allow me, I would love to buy you a meal and a drink, to cheer you up."

Priscilla looked up at him. "You'd…do that? Why?"

"Because you need it."

With mixed feelings, Priscilla accepted the hand and Tiberius helped her to her feet. She offered him his cape back, but he shook his head. "You need that too."

"If…If you're sure."

But as they began walking, Priscilla kept the cape drawn around her. She had to admit that she was cold, despite all the running she had just done.

Tiberius took her to a place called The Crown, a bar and restaurant. They went in, sat down, and ordered some food. While they waited, Tiberius chatted to Priscilla about random stuff, to keep her mind off the incident. He told funny stories about his siblings, made jokes, and asked her questions about herself. By the time their food arrived, Priscilla felt like she knew and trusted Tiberius better than she had ever known and trusted Octavius. She had admitted things to him that she had never told anyone before. She briefly wondered why, but she soon realised that it was because she felt she could truly trust Tiberius. Unbeknownst to her, Tiberius was feeling the exact same way.

After they had finished their food and paid, Tiberius took Priscilla into the centurions' lounge at the back of the bar, which was exclusive to centurions and their one guest each. They sat down on the sofas and listened to the piano playing in the background.

"Thank you for this," Priscilla said gratefully, taking a sip of her wine. "I really needed this."

"I bet it was better than lying on the street, crying."

Priscilla giggled awkwardly and nodded. "Definitely. You're an amazing guy, Tiberius. Any woman would be lucky to have you."

Tiberius nodded slowly. "Try telling any woman that," he joked.

"You're…single?"

"Yeah. I haven't really had much luck in love, either. My first serious girlfriend cheated on me, and my most recent girlfriend died."

"Oh, that's…terrible. I'm so sorry."

Tiberius shrugged helplessly. "It's alright. I've moved on."

Priscilla sighed. "I wish I could move on. I don't know how long it's going to take me to get over Octavius. I guess if I truly loved him, it'll take longer."

"Hey, you don't have to worry about it." Tiberius reached across the table and placed his hand on hers. "Any man would be lucky to have you."

"Thank you." Priscilla smiled. "Again, thank you for everything you've done for me."

"I'm at least glad you allowed me to help. After all, I wouldn't have been a very good gentleman if I left you on the street, would I?"

"I guess not." Priscilla took another sip of her drink. "Do you have any kids?"

"No." Tiberius sipped at his own glass of wine. "My first girlfriend did give birth to a son who I thought was mine, but he turned out to belong to the man my girlfriend cheated on me with."

Priscilla grimaced. "I'm sorry."

"It's alright. She never truly loved me, and I'm better off without her."

Hesitantly, Priscilla leant forwards. "Do you want a girlfriend?"

"Depends if you're willing to be that girlfriend," Tiberius replied automatically, then he groaned. "Oh my gods…I'm so sor-."

Priscilla interrupted him by leaning even further forward and kissing him on the lips. After a few seconds of surprise, Tiberius relaxed. They automatically reached out and held each other's hands, looking like a real couple.

When they pulled back, Priscilla was blushing. "I'm willing," she said, smiling shyly.

So Tiberius leant in and kissed her again.

The day may not have started well for Priscilla, but it could not have had a better ending.


End file.
